If we do not believe in ourselves- neither in our efficacy nor in our goodness- the universe is a frightening read more

If we do not believe in ourselves- neither in our efficacy nor in our goodness- the universe is a frightening place.

Yield to temptation; it may not pass your way again.

Yield to temptation; it may not pass your way again.

The burning conviction that we have a holy duty towards others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves read more

The burning conviction that we have a holy duty towards others is often a way of attaching our drowning selves to a passing raft. What looks like a giving hand is often a holding on for dear life. Take away our holy duties and you leave our lives puny and meaningless. There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.

It may indeed prove to be far the most difficult and not the least important task for human reason rationally read more

It may indeed prove to be far the most difficult and not the least important task for human reason rationally to comprehend its own limitations. It is essential for the growth of reason that as individuals we should bow to forces and obey principles which we cannot hope fully to understand, yet on which the advance and even the preservation of civilization depend.

There is apparently some connection between dissatisfaction with oneself and proneness to credulity. The urge to escape our real self read more

There is apparently some connection between dissatisfaction with oneself and proneness to credulity. The urge to escape our real self is also an urge to escape the rational and the obvious. The refusal to see ourselves as we are develops a distaste for facts and cold logic. There is no hope for the frustrated in the actual and the possible. Salvation can come to them only from the miraculous, which seeps through a crack in the iron wall of inexorable reality. They asked to be deceived.

If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't.

If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't.

The most basic question is not what is best but who shall decide what is best.

The most basic question is not what is best but who shall decide what is best.

The less satisfaction we derive from being ourselves, the greater is our desire to be like others.

The less satisfaction we derive from being ourselves, the greater is our desire to be like others.

There is no reason why humanity cannot be served equally by weighty and trivial motives.

There is no reason why humanity cannot be served equally by weighty and trivial motives.